Across the country there are thousands of students afraid to go to school.  But it may not be for the reasons you think.  These kids aren’t afraid of a teacher, they aren’t afraid because they are failing a class.  They are afraid, because for some unknown reason, they are the sole target of a bully.

Bullying has always been around.  It is as ancient as the history of the human race.  Bullying today though, has taken on a new face.  Bullies are now armed with not only a fresh mouth and a hard fist, but now have at their disposal an array of technological equipment to aid their bullying.  Text messages that go viral, Facebook pages inundated with hate messages, phone calls from blocked numbers and sometimes entire websites dedicated to harassing one lonely person, are the tools of the new bully.

The two most common triggers for bullying are appearance and social status.  Bullies choose their victims because they may be shy and quiet, or have frizzy hair that never looks right, or because they are of a different ethnicity than the bully.  The reasons seem trite and infantile, and they are.  The real reason bullies bully, is because they can, the reasons are nothing more than excuses to unleash their “power” on an unsuspecting victim.  Bullies feed off of the reactions of their targets.  The more upset the victim becomes, the more the bully feels fulfilled.  Very seldom do bullies receive any consequences for their actions, as most victims of bullying are terrified of making it worse by getting parents or school authorities involved.  Bullies even exist in the adult world, often teasing and threatening co-workers, making work more of a torture than it already is.

Being the victim of bullying can cause numerous health issues such as depression, anxiety, irritable bowl syndrome, and fatigue.  Severe cases of bullying have even led, sadly, to the suicide of some victims who can no longer cope with being made into an outcast.  Victims of bullying have also been known to lash out in a violent response when they just can’t take anymore.  Bullying can also negatively effect school work and extracurricular activities.  This makes bullying the center of the victims life, giving the bully the satisfaction of success.

Teens should be encouraged to come forward and tell an adult if bullying is going on.  If violence is being threatened or has already occurred, school officials should be notified.  One of the best ways to derail a bully’s tactics is to just ignore them.  By not giving them the response they are looking for, they may give up and leave their victim alone.

Bullying has started to come to the center of attention in many communities.  National Bullying Prevention Awareness Week is held the first week of October and this year it has been expanded to encompass activities and education for the entire month.  It is a week designed to raise awareness of bullying and the unseen damage that it can do to not only its victims, but also to the bully themselves.  By talking about bullying and teaching all students to not tolerate a bully’s behaviour, we can keep our children safe and our schools a haven of learning instead of a place of fear.

Learn how to make sense of what’s going on with your teen and be able to offer them the help they need. Click here!